Quadrant punch for turret punch presses and the like



Aug. 30, 1966 J. s. KILLALY E 3,269,240

QUADRANT PUNCH FOR TURRET PUNCH PRESSES AND THE LIKE Filed March 29,1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS.

BY 6 A? 6 QUADRANT PUNCH FOR TURRET PUNCH PRESSES AND THE LIKE FiledMarch 29, 1965 United States Patent 3,269,240 QUADRANT PUNCH FGR TURRETPUNCH PRFSSES AND THE LIKE John S. Killaly, Box 86, Spring House,Montgomery County, Pa, and Arthur B. Kettle, 864 Webster St.,

Needham, Norfolk County, Mass.

Filed Mar. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 443,434 8 Claims. (Cl. 83-140) Thisinvention relates to an indexing type nibbling quadrant punch for turretpunch presses and the like.

This invention consists of improved components designed for use inturret punch presses or for single station presses used mainly for lowproduction work. In this type of press activity, the blank is placed ina pantograph or a duplicator type press, a gage bar type press or anumerically controlled press whether it be a turret punch press or asingle station punch press. Each stroke of the punch or ram producesonly one hole, notch or nibble in the blank. The blank is clamped inwork holders, controlled numerically or is manipulated manuallyunderneath the punch station until the entire hole pattern is punched.

The above-described type of press activity differs basically from thatof presses set up for high production work wherein multiple punches aremounted in the press and a single stroke produces a number of holes andcut-outs or completely finishes the work.

The design and construction of the turret type punch press differs inmany import-ant respects from that of the high production machines.Typically, the high production press possesses a capacity to knock outholes of relatively large size or area in heavy material which would farexceed the capacity of the standard low production press. This lowcapacity reduces the size of holes, particularly circular holes, whichcan be cut in a particular material by the turret type press. The highproduction press is equipped to mount a variety of punches havingcutting surfaces of different shapes while the turret press is usuallylimited to a particular size or shape punch. In the turret type press, astripper which presses the blank off the punch on the withdrawal strokemust be confined within a certain limited diameter punch holder and mustoperate within a limited vertical movement. Further, the top half of theturret type press must not be connected to the bottom half in any waywhich restricts movement of the work piece in the press.

It is the primary advantage of the quadrant punch of this invention thatit increases the capacity of the ordinary turret type press to knock outholes, particularly circular holes, which normally would require a pressof far greater load capacity.

It is also an advantage of the punch and mounting of this invention thatthe punch does not sheer the blank or material being punched and thatthe position of the punch around the vertical axis may be adjustedeasily and quickly to cut the designed shape.

It is also an advantage of this invention that the quadrant punch isadapatable to receive a compressive type stripping unit which cooperateswith the punch and increases the quality and safety of the work byeliminating slug pick-up and preventing distortion in the work piece.

It is the further advantage of the punch and improvements of thisinvention that structuarlly they are relatively simple in design,inexpensive to manufacture and use, and readily substitutable in thewell known turret or single station type of press. larly important asthe turret type presses are normally used in low cost and low productiontype of work.

These and other advantages of this invention will become more apparentfrom the description set forth hereinbelow and from the drawings,wherein:

These features are piarticuice FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view ofthe components comprising the preferred form of the indexing typenibbling quadrant punch of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a reversed exploded perspective view of two of the componentsof the punch shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the punch, die and blank;

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation, partly in section and partly cutaway, of the quadrant punch having the preferred form of stripping unitmounted thereon;

FIG. 5 is a partial view similar to that of FIG. 4 showing action of thepunch and stripper during the withdrawal movement;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines and arrows VIVI of FIG.4;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the lines and arrows VII-VII ofFIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing of the areas knocked out by aseries of strokes of the punch to form a circle.

The following description is directed to the specific form of theinvention illustrated in the drawings and is not intended to limit thescope of the invention itself which may be practiced in a variety offorms and arrangements.

In the drawings and written description set forth, only generalreference is made to the well known features of the standard turret orsingle station type press and this disclosure is directed to the novelpunch and other improved apparatus which is designed for mounting on anduse with said standard turret type presses.

The preferred form of indexing type nibbling punch equipped with acompressive stripper is shown assembled in FIG. 4 and is identifiedgenerally by the numeral 10. The punch apparatus 10 is supported at thetopby a press member 16 and moves up and down relative to a stationary,horizontal work surface 17 and female die 18.

The components of punch apparatus 10 are shown in detail in FIG. 1 andcomprise a punch support 20, a half member 40 which includes an uppershank half member 30 and a lower punch half member 56 and a stripperapparatus 120.

A generally cylindrical punch support 20 is provided with anupwardly-extending, T-shaped flange 21 which fits within acorrespondingly shaped groove in press member 16 (FIG. 4). Punch support20 has an axially directed cylindrical hole 22 formed in its base and aseries of threaded radial indexing holes 23 extending inwardly from thesurface to center hole 22. A series of radially directed continuousgrooves 25 may be formed in the bottom surface of punch support 20 inaddition to holes 23 to receive an indexing pin therein as describedbelow (FIG. 6). An axial bore 27 is provided to receive a bolt 26 forthe purpose described below.

A generally cylindrical half member 40 (FIG. 2) is detachably mountedagainst the bottom of punch support 20 by bolt 26. Half member 40 has adiameter slightly less than that of the punch support 20 (FIG. 4) and iscomposed of an upper shank half member 30 and a lower punch half member50 which are held together by a pair of bolts 42 with aligning studs 39(FIG. 2), member 30 having an annular flange 34 which fits within anannular recess 52 in member 50.

Upper shank half member 30 has an upwardly-directed shank 31 of suchsize as to fit within hole 22 of punch support 20 and said shank isprovided with a series of radially located indexing grooves 32 which canbe aligned with holes 23 when shank 31 is within hole 22. A threadedstud 24 is provided to thread in a selected hole 23 of support 20 andhence into a selected groove 32 so that half member 40 can be rotatedaround its vertical axis within support 20 when the stud 24 is withdrawnand then locked by the stud as shown in FIG. 4. The I verticallypositioned supporting bolt 26 threads into shank 31 from punch support20 as shown in FIG. 4 to provide the main support for half member 40.

As an alternative to indexing holes 23, 32 and stud 24, an indexing pin35 may be mounted in half member 40 and separably located in a selectedgroove 25 in the bottom of support 20 so as to allow member 40 to bepositioned around its vertical axis as desired (FIG. 6). In theembodiment shown (FIG. 4), both forms of indexing the half member 40 andconsequently the punch in relation to its support are shown but onemeans may be used independent of the other with entirely satisfactoryresults.

Shank half member 30 is provided with four uniform diameter equallyspaced holes 36 extending upwardly from the bottom surface thereof. Fouraligning heels 60 (FIG. 1), each having a small diameter neck 62, anaxial slot 63, an arcuately shaped surface 64, a round shaped surface 66and a snap ring 65 are mounted for limited axial or up and down movementin holes 36 in member 36'. Springs 37 fit around the necks 62 of theheels 60 and are mounted within holes 36 so as to continually urge theheels downwardly.

Punch half member 50, the second component of half member 40, hasmounted on its downwardly-directed surface 56 a generally cubicallyshaped quadrant punch 79 having four arcuately curved side surfaces 7land a relatively fiat downwardly-directed cutting surface 72. Each ofthe side surfaces 71 is curved along an arc defined by a radius which isequal to the width of the punch 70 measured across its center. Ofcourse, punch 7% could be hexangular or octangular and the arc could bedefined by a longer or shorter radius than that of the embodimentdescribed herein. Four holes or bores 53 are formed in punch half member50 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and these are of same size and relative location asholes 36 in shank half member 30, holes 53 being continued as grooves 74in the side surfaces 71 of punch 70. The aligning heels 60 are mountedin half member 50 (FIGS. 4 and so that the springs 37 urge the heelsoutwardly and the snap rings 65 prevent the escape of the heels out ofpunch 70. Each heel 60 is prevented from rotating in its groove 74 bypins 80 which are mounted, together with springs 82, in horizontal bores33 in punch 70. Pins 80 are spring biased into the axial slots 63 formedin the heels 60 thus allowing axial movement of the heels but not rotarymovement. The heels 60 are mounted in punch 79 so that their curvedsides 64 form part of the curved side surfaces 71 of the punch 70 asshown in FIG. 7. The curved heel sides, as well as the remaining sidesurfaces of the punch, fit tightly within the similarly shaped opening100 formed in the female die 18 when the punch descends as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4.

A compressive stripper apparatus 120 shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, isadapted for the nibbling quadrant punch and comprises a compressionspring 122 having a diameter slightly larger than pun-ch 70, acylindrical sleeve 124 having an inner diameter only slightly largerthan the half member 50 and an inwardly-directed bottom flange 125(FIGS. 4 and 5), and a fiat stripper disk 128. Sleeve 124 has an axialslot 123 and a pin 126 is provided to thread within a hole 54 in punch.member 50 to allow vertical movement of the sleeve Within the length ofthe slot. As shown in FIG. 4, sleeve 124 is mounted around half member5% and spring 122 surrounds punch 70 and is mounted between the fiatdownwardly-directed surface 56 of member 50 and the flange 125 of thesleeve. The metallic stripper disk 128, having a center hole 128asimilar in size and shape as the punch 70, is held to the bottom ofsleeve 124 by a plurality of magnets 129 which are mounted on thesleeve. The size and location of slot 123 in the sleeve are such thatthe stripper disk is located slightly ahead of or just level with thecutting surfaces of the heels 6% so. that upon downward movement of thepunch, the stripper contacts the blank 101 and presses it against thedie before or at the same time as the heels contact the blank. Thestripper thus holds the blank on the die as the punch cuts a hole (FIG.4) and as the punch is withdrawn (FIG. 5 thereby preventing the blankfrom hanging up on the withdrawing punch and being raised from the die.The stripper prevents double slugging of material and damage to theblank and press which often occurs if movement of the blank ispermitted.

Operation of the preferred form of the indexing type nibbling quadrantpunch press is substantially as follows. The punch and stripper areraised sufficiently high to allow a blank 101 to be insertedtherebeneath and positioned on the die 18. The nibbling quadrant punchis particularly designed for punching out a piece or shape from materialwhich is smaller in size than the total area of the punch cuttingsurface or face (FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 3, the blank 101 has anearlier punched hole 11% and is positioned on the die 18 so that section112, shown in dotted lines, will be cut out in the following stroke. Asthe press descends, the stripper and all of the aligning heels 60 arespring biased downwardly in advance of the bottom cutting surface of thepunch. The stripper, preferably, contacts the blank first and presses itagainst the die as the punch continues to descend and the stripperspring compresses as indicated in FIG. 4. When a heel 64 contacts theblank it is forced upwardly until it bottoms in hole 36 in member 30 andthe bottom cutting surface of that heel assumes a position level withthe remaining bottom cutting surface of the punch and performs like anyother part thereof. The important work is achieved by those heels whichdo not contact the blank, for instance heel 6th; in FIG. 3, as this heelthen precedes the punch cutting surface and passes directly through thehole in the blank and into and against the side of the die 18 as shownin dotted lines. Because heel 60a is within the die before or at thetime the remaining surface of the punch contacts the blank, the punch isprevented from moving sideways or sheering the blank. Of course,secondary movement of the blank is also prevented and an accurate, cleancut is produced. As the punch moves upwardly on the return stroke, thecutting surface of the punch and the heels pass out of the blank whilethe stripper continues to press the blank against the die as is shown inFIG. 5.

The curved side surfaces 71 of the punch make it possible for the punchto knock out a round hole whose circumference is formed by a series ofarcs similar to that of one side surface of the punch. Referring to FIG.8, the dot and dash lines indicate the areas knocked out by each strokeof the punch and it can be seen that the majority of the circle, areas Athrough D, is knocked out after four strokes of the punch with preciserelocation of the blank between strokes. The punch is then rotated orindexed to a position 45 from the initiate position and the area markedE and similarly located areas around the circle are subsequentlypunched. In this way, with the curved side surfaces of the punch cuttingthe perimeter of the hole, a circle having a diameter twice that of thepunch is cut. By making a series of strokes with the quadrant shapedpunch, a limited capacity punch press can knock out a circle which wouldnormally require a much greater capacity, single stroke press.

The quadrant shaped side surfaces and aligning heels ensure clean curvedcuts. By means of the indexing holes 23, 32 and pin 24, or grooves 25and pin 35, the shank and punch half members may be separated fromsupport 20 after loosening bolt 26 and rotated, causing punch 70 toassume a new position relative to the Work blank with a minimum of timeand effort.

The stripper disk may be modified to be formed from plastic or rubberand attached to the sleeve by spring arms or threads formed in bothmembers. The disk can have a preformed center hole or can be made inblank and the hole punched on the first stroke of the punch.

Although this invention has been disclosed with reference to specificforms and embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated that a greatnumber of variations may be made without departing from the spirit orscope of this invention. For example, parts may be reversed, equivalentelements may be substituted for those specifically disclosed, andcertain features of the invention may be used independently of otherfeatures, all without departing from the spirit and scope of thisinvention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. In a turret type punch press or the like, a nibbling quadrant punchfor knocking out round holes of greater diameter than the width of thepunch, said punch comprising a punch mounted for axial movement relativeto a female die, said punch having a relatively fiat downwardly-directedcutting surface and a plurality of arcuately shaped side surfaces, eachsurface having a defining radius which is greater in length thanone-half of the width of the punch, and

a plurality of generally cylindrically shaped aligning heels mountedwithin the punch for axial movement partially independent thereof, atleast a few of said heels having an arcuately shaped side surfaceforming part of the punch side surfaces, said heels being spring biaseddownwardly in advance of the punch cutting surface so as to extend intothe female die when not encountering material thereon, so that after aseries of strokes and movement of the blank on the die a hole is knockedout having a diameter greater than the width of the punch and having acircumference defined by the arc of the punch side surfaces.

2. The punch as defined in claim 1 further including means for adjustingthe position of the punch around its vertical axis so that by making aseries of strokes with the punch in first one position and then in asecond position, the punch knocks out a complete hole.

3. The punch as defined in claim 1 wherein each side surface of thepunch has an arc defined by a radius which is equal to the Width of thepunch measured at its narrowest point, said punch width also definingthe radius of the round hole.

4. The punch as defined in claim 3 wherein the punch has four sidesurfaces and means is provided to locate the punch at a position 45 fromits initial position following four strokes in said initial positionwhereby four strokes in the second position are required to completelyknock out a hole which has a radius equal to the width of the punchtaken at its narrowest point.

5. In a turret type punch press or the like, a quadrant punch forknocking out round holes of greater diameter in the blank than the widthof the punch, said punch comprising a punch and support member mountedfor vertical movement relative to a stationary female die, said punchhaving a plurality of uniform diameter grooves extending therethroughfrom the cutting surface and extending into the support member as holes,said grooves being located contiguous the vertical sides of the punch sothat the side surfaces of the punch truncate the grooves causing theirperimeter to be less than 360, said side surfaces being arcuately shapedand each having a defining radius which is greater than one-half of thewidth of the punch,

a plurality of generally cylindrical aligning heels equal in number tothe number of grooves, each of said heels having an axially directedarcuate surface which forms part of one arcuate side surface of thepunch when assembled, said heels mounted in the grooves and hole forvertical movement independent of the punch and punch support withincertain limits,

means for preventing the heels from rotating,

means for continually urging the heels in the direction of the die sothat the heels extend beyond the downwardly-directed cutting surface ofthe punch when not forced upwardly by the blank upon downward movementof the punch, whereby subsequent to positioning the blank on the die andlowering the punch, each heel which does not contact the blank movesinto the die before or at the same time as the punch contacts the blankthereby preventing lateral movement of the punch when only a portion ofthe punch cutting surface contacts the blank.

6. The punch as defined in claim 5 further including a punch supportlocated above and supporting the punch and support member for verticalmovement, said punch support having a plurality of radially directedindexing openings located around its cylindrical surface and an axiallydirected opening extending upwardly from its downwardly directed bottomsurface,

said support member having an upwardly directed shank with a pluralityof radially directed indexing openings therein, said openings located onthe shank so as to align with the openings in punch support when thesupport member shank is mounted in the punch support opening, 7

an indexing plug of such size as to fit within the openings in the punchsupport and support member, and

an axially oriented bolt for attaching the support member to the punchsupport whereby when the bolt is loosened the support member can berotated around its vertical axis to a selected position so that theindexing plug fits with aligned openings in the punch support andsupport member.

7. The punch as defined in claim 5 further including a stripper sleevemounted for independent axial movement on the supporting member, saidsleeve having a downwardly-directed surface located adjacent the punchcutting surface when not contacting the blank and having means forattaching the sleeve to the punch so that the sleeve moves partiallywith the punch but is free to move independently within defined limitsin a vertical direction relative to the punch,

means for continually urging the sleeve in the direction of the die, and

a stripper supported by the sleeve on its downwardlydirected surface andforming a surface contiguous to and in the same plane as thedownwardly-directed surface of the punch heels when not contacting theblank whereby following positioning of the blank and lowering of thepunch proximate the blank, the stripper contacts and presses the blankagainst the die during the time the punch passes through the blank andis withdrawn.

8. The nibbling punch as defined in claim 7 wherein the means forcontinually urging the sleeve in the direc tion of the work surfacecomprises a compression spring surrounding the punch and located betweenthe downwardly-directed surface of the punch support and anupwardly-directed flange surface of the sleeve.

ANDREW R. J UHASZ, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Examiner.

J. M. MEISTER, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A TURRET TYPE PUNCH PRESS OR THE LIKE, A NIBBLING QUADRANT PUNCHFOR KNOCKING OUT ROUND HOLE OF GREATER DIAMETER THAN THE WIDTH OF THEPUNCH, SAID PUNCH COMPRISING A PUNCH MOUNTED FOR AXIAL MOVEMENT RELATIVETO A FEMALE DIE, SAID PUNCH HAVING A RELATIVELY FLAT DOWNWARDLY-DIRECTEDCUTTING SURFACE AND A PLURALITY OF ARCUATED SHAPED SIDE SURFACES, EACHSURFACE HAVING A DEFINING RADIUS WHICH IS GREATER IN LENGTH THANONE-HALF OF THE WIDTH OF THE PUNCH, AND A PLURALITY OF GENERALLYCYLINDRICALLY SHAPED ALIGNING HEELS MOUNTED WITHIN THE PUNCH FOR AXIALMOVEMENT PARTIALLY INDEPENDENT THEREOF, AT LEAST A FEW OF SAID HEELSHAVING AN ARCUATELY SHAPED SIDE SURFACE FORMING PART OF THE PUNCH SIDESURFACES, SAID HEELS BEING SPRING BIASED DOWNWARDLY IN ADVANCE OF THEPUNCH CUTTING SURFACE SO AS TO EXTEND INTO THE FEMALE DIE WHEN NOTENCOUNTERING MATERIAL THEREON, SO THAT AFTER A SERIES OF STROKES ANDMOVEMENT OF THE BLANK ON THE DIE A HOLE IS KNOCKED OUT HAVING A DIAMETERGREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF THE PUNCH AND HAVING A CIRCUMFERENCE DEFINEDBY THE ARC OF THE PUNCH SIDE SURFACES.